The present invention relates to the manufacture of thermoformed articles such as children's toys, and more particularly to such thermoformed articles in multicolored configurations of various types.
Thermoforming of synthetic resinous sheet material is widely employed in the manufacture various types of children's toys such as swimming pools, sleds, sandboxes, toboggans and the like as well as in the manufacture of various industrial articles, packaging and vehicle components. Various techniques have been proposed to provide multicolored and diverse configurations for such thermoformed articles including techniques of dying, painting or otherwise applying a differential color coating to the surface of the thermoformed product.
In some instances it has been proposed to utilize adhesively applied laminated films and sheeting to effect multicolored patterns for the thermoformed article. Moreover, some multicolored articles have utilized polychromic extrusions for the sheet material which is thermoformed. However, some of the above techniques have involved limitations as to the configuration or depth of the multicolored component within the overall configuration of the thermoformed article, others have provided a relatively thin surface coating upon the article which might be readily abradable so as to become unsightly after a relatively short period of time; wear-resistant laminates have been relative costly.
It is an object is to provide a unitary multicolored thermoplastic article which includes a body element and an insert element on one surface thereof which is bonded thereto to provide a unitary structure and which provides a multicolored component with respect to the surrounding body.
Another object is to provide such an article in which two or more such differentially colored inserts are provided and bonded at spaced points to the body member.